In Colonial times people usually did not take a bath more than once a week. Most people took baths even less often especially during colder months of the year.  The habit of taking baths less often was caused by people’s fears about exposing their flesh to the air and of washing off the protective layer of dirt.  Colonists also did not like to take a bath more than once a week because it was so difficult to fill the bathtub.  In the 1700’s the plumbing that we rely on to bring water into our houses had not yet been invented.  Every drop of water that came into the house had to be brought inside by someone. The water came from either a well or a nearby source of water such as a stream or lake.  Water for washing one’s face, water for cooking, and water for washing clothes all of it was carried into the house bucket by bucket.  Water was hauled in wooden buckets. Each of these buckets held 1 gallon of water and weighed 10 pounds, eight pounds for the water and two pounds for the bucket.  Luckily most people were able to carry two buckets at a time.  

 Frederick Van Cortlandt wants to take a bath!  His bathtub is rather large.  It holds 22 gallons of water and is stored in the kitchen.  Frederick’s wife Frances is responsible for seeing that her husband’s bath is made ready.  She instructs Frederick’s manservant to set up the kitchen for the bath. First he will move the tables and chairs aside to make room for the bathtub near the fire.  He arranges chairs in a half-circle and hangs a linen sheet from the backs so Frederick can take a bath with some privacy.  Next he takes a pair of wooden buckets to start carrying buckets of water into the kitchen. The water is heated in a large iron cauldron set in the fire.  When the water is hot, it will be transferred into the bathtub one bucket at a time.    The cauldron will need to be filled and re-filled 4 times before there is enough hot water in the tub for Frederick’s bath.  Once Frederick has taken his bath, the tub will have to be emptied bucket by bucket until all 22 gallons are back outside. 

 By the time Frederick Van Cortlandt has finished taking a bath, how much water, in gallons and pounds, will his manservant have hauled?   

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